A/N - Just a quickie chapter. I'm under a time crunch with school starting. I'll do my best to update again soon and answer some of your nagging questions (Jenna), but I can't make any guarantees.

Ethan watched the windshield wipers, mesmerized. He snapped himself out of a doze more than once. He tried to keep himself alert and focused, but it was hard. None of them had caught much more than a nap over the past few days, and Ethan could feel the extended battles finally catching up with him. But he knew this was no time to give in or show weakness – he still had his mother to deal with.

In Ethan's opinion, Kira got off easy. She was so obviously distraught and exhausted that Ethan could just see her mother packing her off to bed no questions asked. He did not think he would be that lucky. So, in the short drive from the Ford's to home, Ethan tried to come up with a plausible story; anything that would make sense and explain his absence from home for the past two days. The "I'm working on a project" excuse was fine for Sunday night, but he hadn't checked in or been home since then and now it was Tuesday afternoon. Ethan could not see how this would end well.

The lurch of the car settling into park and the disengagement of the engine woke Ethan. Disoriented he looked around at the familiar driveway. Did I fall asleep? I was sure I was working on a story to tell mom… Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Ethan blearily climbed out of the car and followed his father into the house.

"Ethan James! Where have you been? Get over here right now!" Ethan obediently crossed the bright and warm kitchen to where Beverly James stood by the kitchen table. Her laptop was surrounded by neat piles of paper; she'd obviously been working while waiting for the men to come home. Though she hadn't gone into the office because of the storm warnings, she was still dressed as though ready to go to work. Her stern tone was tempered by the deep concern in her eyes; and when she fiercely embraced her son she was somewhat surprised at the embrace she received back.

"Oh Ethan, honey," she whispered, all anger forgotten for a moment, "you had us so worried." She held him a little tighter and was shocked at how strong his arms felt around her.

"I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to make you worry." Beverly released Ethan, marveling that she was the one to let go first; Ethan hadn't hugged her like that since he was a little boy. She took a good long look at his face. He'd never been able to pull anything over on her, and she could read the honest regret she saw there.

"Sit down." That tone brooked no argument, and Ethan sat. Beverly resumed her seat near her lap top; Tyrone sat on Ethan's left, opposite his wife. "Now…where have you been?"

The unfinished plan Ethan had concocted in the car flew out of his head. There was just no way he would be able to outright lie to his mother and pull it off; he could handle the occasional evasion or omission, but he was in no shape for a frontal assault. He decided to give as much of the truth as he could, and focus on his whereabouts for today as opposed to explaining where he's been yesterday. He didn't think "I was hanging out in Dr. O's secret lab between monster attacks" would go over well.

"We got caught in the storm – Conner, Kira and me."

"And 'I'." his mother automatically corrected.

"And I, " Ethan repeated. "We were on our way to school, but Kira likes the coffee from that place by the courthouse, so we went." Ethan frantically tried to remember what happened first – the Tyranodrone attack or the storm. It was definitely the attack…the ninjas were there first, and then Hunter and Blake kicked up the storm. "Then some of those mutant freaks attacked, so all the civilians ran for shelter." That is absolutely true, though I'm implying that we were part of that civilian crowd…

"We watched the fight for a while…" We watched from the lab, but same difference. "Everyone was told to stay inside, away from the fight. And then the storm just came out of nowhere. It wasn't safe to go outside." Ethan felt like he was on solid ground with this edited version of the morning's events, but he was surprised at how hesitant he felt to continue. He really didn't want to talk about Conner's injury. Not because he couldn't really explain it, but because it deeply upset him.

"But you did go outside." His mother prompted. "You were out in that storm. What were you thinking?"

Ethan didn't reply at first. He couldn't express what he really wanted to: I don't think when the fight happens, Mom. I just do what I can to protect the people of Reefside. I love this town and won't let it be overrun by some dinosaur mutant freak! Ethan sat silently at his kitchen table, surrounded by safety and his family, and realized for the first time what the fight truly meant to him. Being a Ranger wasn't about racking up points and beating your high score; they were fighting for something real. But the cost was high, and you couldn't reset the game to get a new life.

Beverly was intent on getting an answer out of her son, trying to make him take responsibility for his actions and grew impatient waiting for Ethan to verbalize a response. But Tyrone sensed the change in the air. He moved his chair a little closer to Ethan's and placed an arm around his shoulder. "Ethan?"

"Conner went out into the storm." Ethan choked out. He stared ahead, not seeing his parents or the kitchen. His hands lay in fists on his lap. "He just wanted to help. We all wanted to help. But none of us could help Conner. We still can't." Ethan couldn't fight himself anymore; the lack of sleep,his overworked body, even holding himself together for Kira's sake had taken a toll, and he couldn't do it any more. Ethan broke down in sobs, covering his face, ashamed of acting like such a baby in front of his parents.

Beverly shared a look of concern with her husband as she pulled her chair in closer to Ethan's too. "Oh baby…" she crooned, gathering him to her to rock him gently.

"We left him in good hands, Ethan." His father murmured as he rubbed Ethan's back. "The doctors will take care of Conner."

"They can't do it. They can't help. We should be able to figure it out, but it's all wrong. The triangle is broken…I don't know why we can't make it work." Ethan rambled even as sobs wracked his frame.

Beverly became even more concerned. It wasn't like Ethan at all to have such an overt display of emotion. And while she understood that he was concerned about his friend, she was startled that he was so incoherent. She had seen and heard enough. This was no time for an inquisition; getting to the bottom of Ethan's whereabouts for the past few days would just have to wait. After a few minutes, Ethan's sobs began to ease; his mother felt comfortable taking control of the situation again.

"Ethan, you are beside yourself exhausted. It's time you got to bed."

"No Mom…what if the hospital calls…what if Conner…" Beverly cut him off before he could get worked up again.

"If they call, we'll wake you up. You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of him, honey." Beverly saw that Ethan had connected with something she had said – he seemed very concerned about helping out Conner, and seemed to buy that unless he was at the top of his game he wouldn't be useful to anybody. Tyrone stood and pulled Ethan up with him. Ethan was wobbly, but with his father's help, made it up the stairs and into his room with no problems. Beverly followed with Ethan's backpack in hand.

Ethan seemed somewhat surprised to realize he was standing in his own bedroom and looked around perplexed. His father gently guided him to the bed where he made him sit while he pulled his sneakers off. Ethan rubbed his eyes distractedly and spoke, though he didn't seem to be addressing his parents. "Hunter's a part of it, but he wasn't getting through either…just adding energy. What happens when it stops raining?"

"Don't worry about that, son." His father said as he pushed Ethan down onto his pillows. "It's going to rain the rest of the day." For some reason that seamed to put Ethan's mind at ease and he closed his eyes. He was instantly asleep.

Not knowing quite what to make of the outburst or their exhausted son, the James' left the room and took up a quiet watch for the rest of the afternoon.

TBC

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